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The
Boastful Turtle
( Tagalog ) |
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| There was once a turtle
who talked so much that no creature could bear to be
near him. He talked about anything and everything, and
his favorite topics were flying and himself. How he
would love to fly, he said, like the geese when the
cold season comes. It must be wonderful to be up so
high. Older and wiser creatures advised him to speak
less and be more content with his lot, but the turtle
would listen to no one. |
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| He wanted to fly.
He called out to a goose in flight, once, as she was
flying off to meet her flock. |
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| "Teach
me how to fly," the turtle said.
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| "I can’t
right now," the goose answered. "My flock
is migrating for the cold season." |
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| "But
I want to fly!" the turtle cried. "And I want
to fly NOW!" |
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| "We’ll
have to ask my flock," the gentle goose said. |
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| So the goose and the
turtle came to the flock, and asked if anyone could
help the turtle out. |
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| "He could bite
sideways on a thick, strong stick, while two of us would
hold either end of the stick in our beaks," someone
volunteered. "But he should not speak while biting
the stick, or else he will fall and we could do nothing
about it." |
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| In truth, the flock
did not like the idea of having the turtle fly with
them in such a manner. They knew how boastful he was,
and besides that, they thought he belonged better on
the ground. But the turtle bullied the geese into taking
him along. |
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| "Mind you, never
open your mouth while we are above ground!" they
reminded the turtle, as they started to lift themselves
off the ground. |
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| So, biting a stick
held horizontally by two strong geese, the boastful
turtle became the very first of his kind to experience
flight. Far below him he saw the most wondrous things:
trees shrinking until they were the size of mere mushrooms,
fields looking like small patches of grass, rivers turning
into silver snakes. But, most of all, he saw the other
earthbound creatures of the world looking up at him,
watching him, and he was deeply affected by their silent
awe. |
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| "They must think
I am a magnificent creature, to have come so high above,"
the turtle thought. "Well, I really am so marvelous!
I feel like I am the greatest turtle in the world!" |
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| The turtle became
so caught up in this delusion that, while looking down
on his earthbound brothers, he opened his mouth to boast.
The poor being’s mindless conceit made him plunge
to his untimely death. |
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